Former NBA center and Serbian basketball legend Nenad Krstic offered a wide-ranging look at his career, the growth of European basketball, and the changing NBA landscape during a recent appearance on the Fullcourt Passport podcast with Ric Bucher and Bostjan “Boki” Nachbar.
Krstic, who played seven NBA seasons with the New Jersey Nets, Oklahoma City Thunder and Boston Celtics, said his transition from Serbia to the NBA in 2004 was overwhelming from the start.
“Initially, everything,” Krstic said when asked about the biggest adjustment. “The language, the culture, the lifestyle, everything.”
“We are talking about 2004, 2005, and we didn’t have WhatsApp, all the social media,” he added. “The internet was different. So everything was different. But for me, the food was different, practice was different.”
The former Serbian national team captain explained that having Balkan teammates around him eased the transition during his early NBA years.
“I was really lucky to have some guys like Boki came after I think a year and a half, Zoran Planinic was on the team, so I had some guys to talk to in my native language,” Krstic said. “For me it was much easier to adjust.”
Krstic also credited his development at Partizan Belgrade for preparing him for the demands of the NBA.
“In Partizan we practiced a lot, we stayed after practice, we came before practice,” he said. “I was willing to practice a lot, I was willing to work hard, and that’s something that really helped me when I was coming to the NBA.”
The 42-year-old admitted he never imagined international players would eventually dominate the NBA MVP race and championship picture.
“Not really. When I was playing, no,” Krstic said. “I couldn’t even imagine to think that this kind of NBA basketball would be Jokic all over the years, Doncic and all the other non-American guys.”
“Now they’re running the NBA obviously,” he added.
Krstic believes European basketball development systems have dramatically improved over the last two decades.
“I think they adjusted the work ethic,” he said. “They prepare young players for the NBA.”
The Serbian basketball pipeline, in particular, continues to stand out despite limited resources compared to larger basketball nations.
“We definitely love basketball,” Krstic said. “Even sometimes when we lose, I’m saying when the national team loses, we still support them.”
“It’s amazing that young players just keep popping up everywhere,” he continued. “In each corner of the country you find some great talent.”
Krstic also acknowledged the challenges Serbian basketball still faces behind the scenes.
“When you see the logistics, when you see that we don’t have great basketball courts, facilities, nothing really,” he said. “But still, we have great talent.”
The former EuroLeague standout also discussed the growing number of Serbian prospects heading to American college basketball programs.
“Obviously when I see the number of young players going to college basketball right now, it’s amazing,” Krstic said. “I think we have like 100 plus now, and the number is going up each year.”
Toward the end of the interview, Krstic addressed the possibility of future NBA and EuroLeague cooperation, stressing that Europe may not be large enough to sustain competing systems.
“In my opinion, Europe is too small for two leagues,” he said. “I think we need one league.”
“The top league, whatever you call it, two leagues like the NBA and the EuroLeague, I think it’s not going to be good for basketball.”
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